as a new DM i'm currently looking to create an encounter with a non hostile monster (a unicorn) being assaulted by other hostile monster (multiple goblin & ogre)
in my mind the player would engage combat teaming with the unicorn (maybe with lowered HP from being in combat before player come help) to help him/her repel the goblin & ogre
how do i manage the number of globlin & ogre to match the difficulty with my player & unicorn teaming up ?
the current group of players is composed of 6 characters all lvl3
DNDBeyond has a new Encounter Builder to help you gauge the difficulty level of various monsters.
A unicorn is a CR5 monster, so it's not really too powerful. But it does have multi-attack, and any of it's attacks will be enough to one-shot a goblin. The ogres are the big worries. The unicorn would probably have used it's "Calm Emotions" spell on the ogres to keep them out of the way while it clears out the goblins. The unicorn's real butt-saver is it's Legendary Actions, which it can use to heal itself every round.
According to the Encounter Builder, a group of 6 goblins and 2 ogres would be a very hard encounter for your party. But... the party AND a unicorn would easily wipe the floor with those monsters. So you'll need to set the encounter at a much harder level. The unicorn got jumped by a massive force - maybe a dozen goblins and 3 or 4 ogres. It cast Calm Emotions, which gave it a round or two to clear out a few goblins, but that would break the spell. So the unicorn used it's superior movement speed to stay ahead of the pack, trampling goblins, and using it's Shimmering Shield and Heal Self legendary actions each round to stay ahead of the attrition curve. But, all it takes is one good hit from an ogre to rattle anybody's bones. After a few such hits, it's starting to realize it's in trouble. Maybe goblin reinforcements have arrived. Maybe one of the goblins is a booyahg.
It's at this point that the party arrives. They find a unicorn running circles around a bunch of humanoids, trampling goblins and impaling ogres. The broken and bloodied corpses of a half dozen goblins already litter the ground. One ogre is down and another is hurt. But the unicorn has taken some serious hits. So the heroes jump into the fray, ranged attackers focus on the ogres, healers protect the unicorn, and melee just clears the field.
The toughest part of designing the encounter is explaining why a unicorn would even need the party's help for low level trash like goblins and ogres. Unicorns can teleport... but maybe it already used that power that day. Unicorns can heal every round. So... maybe one of the monsters has some kind of Anti-Magic device on it that was preventing the unicorn from using its magic to heal itself. Or maybe they got a net over the unicorn which impeded its movement and prevented it from using trampling charge.
Whatever the reason, just decide ahead of time how many monsters you want the party to face, and how many HP the unicorn has left when they get there. So Maybe there are 6 goblins and 2 ogres left when the party arrives. One ogre is at 1/4 HP (15 out of 59) but the other is unhurt. Two of the 6 goblins are each at 1 HP. The rest are at full (7 HP). The party should be able to clear that trash pretty easily.
And it's always nice to have a unicorn that owes you a favor!
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Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
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Hello
as a new DM i'm currently looking to create an encounter with a non hostile monster (a unicorn) being assaulted by other hostile monster (multiple goblin & ogre)
in my mind the player would engage combat teaming with the unicorn (maybe with lowered HP from being in combat before player come help) to help him/her repel the goblin & ogre
how do i manage the number of globlin & ogre to match the difficulty with my player & unicorn teaming up ?
the current group of players is composed of 6 characters all lvl3
DNDBeyond has a new Encounter Builder to help you gauge the difficulty level of various monsters.
A unicorn is a CR5 monster, so it's not really too powerful. But it does have multi-attack, and any of it's attacks will be enough to one-shot a goblin. The ogres are the big worries. The unicorn would probably have used it's "Calm Emotions" spell on the ogres to keep them out of the way while it clears out the goblins. The unicorn's real butt-saver is it's Legendary Actions, which it can use to heal itself every round.
According to the Encounter Builder, a group of 6 goblins and 2 ogres would be a very hard encounter for your party. But... the party AND a unicorn would easily wipe the floor with those monsters. So you'll need to set the encounter at a much harder level. The unicorn got jumped by a massive force - maybe a dozen goblins and 3 or 4 ogres. It cast Calm Emotions, which gave it a round or two to clear out a few goblins, but that would break the spell. So the unicorn used it's superior movement speed to stay ahead of the pack, trampling goblins, and using it's Shimmering Shield and Heal Self legendary actions each round to stay ahead of the attrition curve. But, all it takes is one good hit from an ogre to rattle anybody's bones. After a few such hits, it's starting to realize it's in trouble. Maybe goblin reinforcements have arrived. Maybe one of the goblins is a booyahg.
It's at this point that the party arrives. They find a unicorn running circles around a bunch of humanoids, trampling goblins and impaling ogres. The broken and bloodied corpses of a half dozen goblins already litter the ground. One ogre is down and another is hurt. But the unicorn has taken some serious hits. So the heroes jump into the fray, ranged attackers focus on the ogres, healers protect the unicorn, and melee just clears the field.
The toughest part of designing the encounter is explaining why a unicorn would even need the party's help for low level trash like goblins and ogres. Unicorns can teleport... but maybe it already used that power that day. Unicorns can heal every round. So... maybe one of the monsters has some kind of Anti-Magic device on it that was preventing the unicorn from using its magic to heal itself. Or maybe they got a net over the unicorn which impeded its movement and prevented it from using trampling charge.
Whatever the reason, just decide ahead of time how many monsters you want the party to face, and how many HP the unicorn has left when they get there. So Maybe there are 6 goblins and 2 ogres left when the party arrives. One ogre is at 1/4 HP (15 out of 59) but the other is unhurt. Two of the 6 goblins are each at 1 HP. The rest are at full (7 HP). The party should be able to clear that trash pretty easily.
And it's always nice to have a unicorn that owes you a favor!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.